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Archarcharch retired, and other Monday News and Notes

By Frankel
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A quick look around the world of horse racing following Animal Kingdom's win in Saturday's Kentucky Derby.

  • Arkansas Derby winner Archarcharch had a successful surgery to repair the condylar fracture to his left front leg on Sunday but his connections announced that he will not race again.  Jockey Jon Court does not know when the injury occurred, but he stated that Archarcharch was bumped coming out of the gate and then was bumped again as he neared the wire. 
  • Comma to the Top will have surgery to remove a bone chip from his left front ankle and should be back in training in 8 to 12 weeks.
  • There are two excellent pieces at DRF.com from Andrew Beyer on Animal Kingdom's trainer, Graham Motion. Particularly refreshing is this quote from Beyer:

    "Derby-winning trainer Rick Dutrow has a record of infractions as long as his arm. But in the nearly 8,000 starts that make up his career, Motion has never been cited for a medication infraction. Not one."

    Motion's 'old school' approach leads to Derby, and
    Motion's Kentucky Derby win strikes a blow for honesty
  • Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom was 31/1 in Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.  He went off at odds of 20/1 in the Derby.  He was part of the field in Pool 1 (2/1) and Pool 2 (7/2), both odds far below what the tote board offered on Saturday.
  • Nehro is expected to skip the Preakness in order to prepare for the Belmont on June 11th.
  • With the Preakness over a week and a half away it will be a bit of a quieter week on the stakes front.  Below is the graded stakes scheduled for this coming weekend:

    Grade 2 Peter Pan (Belmont)
    Grade 2 Jim Murray Handicap (Hollywood)
    Grade 3 Hendrie Stakes (Woodbine)
  • Soldat is expected to return to racing on the turf, according to Neal McLaughlin.
  • Churchill Downs is considering revising the Derby starters policy to allow for alternate entries.  This year, since Uncle Mo wasn't scratched until after the draw, Sway Away (the #21 horse on the graded earnings list) wasn't able to get into the starting gate.  Had he been an AE, he would have.
  • While handle remains down across the country, Derby business is still excellent.  Churchill Downs set an attendance record on Saturday and saw an increase in handle for the entire card.